It's Hard To Say I Love You
by kurui
Summary: Everyone is connected one way or another. A series of connected moments revolving everyone which depicts their thoughts, the secrets they hide from one another, the secrets and feelings they reveal. IchiRuki. IshiHime sidepair and other minor pairings.
1. Uno

It's hard to say I love you

**Summary**: It's a small world, almost everyone is connected one way or another. A series of moments revolving everyone which depicts their thoughts, the secrets they hide from one another, the secrets they reveal, the secrets they didn't know they have and revelation of feelings.

**Author's Note**: All right, so this fic is inspired by the J-drama "It's Hard To Say I Love You" (Sunao Ni Narenakute), hence the title but that is all I'm taking from the drama. For those who are familiar with the drama, I'm really intrigued with the way everyone is connected with each other yet there are some secrets that some knew from each other that they don't want others to know yet they still reveal them in such a way (I really don't know how to describe it but, you get it, right?). Also, Haruhi and Nakaji are the main rotator that caused the chain of events to happen around them (to me anyway) and guess which two characters will do the same in this fic? Haha, it'll be pretty obvious. Anyway, I want to capture that _'connected'_ concept of the drama, without the whole Twitter thing of course. And those of you who haven't heard of the drama, you should really check it out. Pretty realistic and deals with recent real life problems (plus fellow K-pop fans, there's Jaejoong in it!)

Oh and this is my first chaptered fic :)

**Disclaimer**: The title and plot is inspired from Sunao Ni Narenakute but nothing here is a copy of the drama. Kubo Tite owns Bleach and all of the characters. I'm only a fic-writer and owns nothing. Apart from this story.

* * *

_...It's difficult when you're not the one, a near impossibility..._

Orihime Inoue felt like flying. She's ecstatic. She chatted animatedly as she kept the same pace as the orange-haired boy walking next to her. They were coincidentally the last people to leave the school premises that afternoon and automatically chose to walk home together _(Inoue silently thanked her lucky stars for that)._

Kurosaki Ichigo listened to the bubbly girl talking energetically. His replies to their conversation was short and concise but he tried to make an effort to keep any conversation alive. After all the teenage girl seemed rather happy. Then again, Inoue is famous for being a cheerful person at most situations.

"Ano...Kurosaki-kun..," Inoue called softly looking at the ground, "I..."  
She turned to her side, hoping to catch the attention of the boy only to find said Kurosaki-kun absent. "Eh...?"

Inoue turned around and spotted Ichigo standing stationary by a shop display. She noticed he was looking, no, gazing intently at it. The curious mind of Orihime Inoue churned and she quickly headed to where the carrot-top stood. She gasped.

At the shop display, two snow-white bunnies perched in front of a miniature hut were snuggling against one another as they gnawed on the same piece of carrot _(Inoue mused on how the hair colour of the boy next to her is the same exact shade)._

_I didn't know Kurosaki-kun liked bunnies... _

She stole a look at Ichigo. He had a solemn expression on his face as he stared at the two rodents. Inoue's eyes widens briefly but then reverted to an expression that is slightly darker than her previous knows.

Of course...

"Kuchiki-san...really loves rabbits doesn't she," Inoue muttered as she returned to look at the rabbits. This earned a brief shocked expression from the orange-haired boy at her. Inoue expected it. She was so sure.

"Yeah..." Ichigo replied, smiling slightly, "Chappy this, Chappy that, her bunny sketches. That girl could make a fortune for everytime she drives me crazy from rabbits," Ichigo laughed softly, brushing off the fact that his grip on his bookbag tightened exponentially.

As for Inoue, she stifled a laugh, but finds it more and more difficult to hold a cheerful demeanor, "She'll be back, she always comes back," she said encouragingly.

_For __all of us. For you._

"Yeah..." Ichigo responded, "but if she wants to be there and I know that she's safe and happy," the boy turned back at the rabbits, "...then who am I to stop her?"

Inoue closed her eyes, forcing herself to push back the dampness surfacing from her eyes. She doesn't know whether this relatively real pain in her chest is from her heart or the knowledge of the bond between the boy next to her and her petite shinigami friend. It overwhelmed her.

"She'll be back," Inoue repeated quietly. Ichigo nodded. Unknown to Inoue, he had been playing the same phrase in his mind for a while already.

Since three months ago to be exact.

* * *

Okay, so the first chapters deals with Inoue and Ichigo. Each chapter will have different characters with different revelations. Also the chapter names are in Italian. Don't ask why but I'll give you a hint if you're curious, I've been reading Eat, Love and Pray lately.


	2. Due

It's hard to say I love you

**Author's Note**: Thank you to my first four reviewers! You make me feel that my story is worth reading :') (So does what reviews do to other writers, so keep the reviews going!). So this is the next chapter. I don't think I describe hollows exactly right in here, I'm always a bit shabby with details but, I hope you enjoy this one nonetheless.

Oh and **DanceOfTheWhiteMoon** , you have to find that out for yourself, hehe. (I know, I'm evil like that!)

**Disclaimer**: Kubo Tite owns Bleach and the characters. I own this story.

* * *

**2. Due**

_ ...It's difficult when you __don't know the real meaning of that phrase, yet..._

"I almost said it.."

"Well, why didn't you then?"

"I can't, Tatsuki-chan. It's not the right time and moment. Maybe never..."

"Orihime, you might not have this kind of chance for a long time, you know that?"

"...what they have is so strong, so real. You feel that way too, ne?"

_o.o.o.o.o_

Tatsuki Arisawa sighed as she replayed the phone conversation she had with her best friend the night before. She took a deep breath, the fresh afternoon breeze felt cool against her as she walked by the bank of Karakura river.

It's a period of calm after the storm. The hypothetical scar in her mind she received from the previous war had been healing gradually. Needless to say, the event had changed her life completely. Ichigo and the others had explained to her what she needed to know. The 'monsters' she sees are 'hollows'. They're the souls of the dead who reincarnated into an evil form after losing their Chain of Fate, the chain that links them to their bodies. Shinigamis, what Ichigo and Rukia are, kills them. By killing them, they reverted the hollows into their original souls and send them to a place called 'Soul Society'.

Basicallythe long-haired and snake-faced shinigami she and the others saw back then in the city were shinigamis gone bad. She also learned that she, Inoue and Chad are able to see hollows because of Ichigo's insanely huge spiritual power andthefact that they're around him often, the leaked 'reiatsu' was absorbed by them. Whatever, that's as much as she can understand for now. The war is over. She's still able to see hollows but at least she doesn't have to fight them. She doesn't have any special powers like Chad or Inoue and she's definitely not a shinigami either. Tatsuki already long decided that it's not her scene.

Although the war is over, Tatsuki found herself involved in another battle. Tha brunette sat down on an empty grassy area by the bank. Her thoughts trailed back to aconversation she had with another orange-haired friend of hers.

"This is all nuts and crazy you know?" Tatsuki sighed. The boy next to her nodded in agreement, both looking at the rising sun as they paused from their morning jog. Tatsuki had deliberately asked Ichigo to come with her to talk, particularly a certain subject she wanted to know more indepth.

"So you got your powers from Kuchiki..." Tatsuki repeated the fact she was told a while back.

"Well, I think I'm already a shinigami from way back, considering the old man is one, but Rukia just speeds up the whole process," Ichigo explained.

Tatsuki noted the way he used 'Rukia'. Just a slip of her name from him and the tomboy can already detect the hidden emotion he tried to keep _(after all, she's not his childhood friend for nothing.)_"If you could live your life again would you still want this path?"

"Yes." Ichigo replied without hesitating, "Rukia, she changed my life like no one else did. She made me able to protect the people I care about..." Ichigo trailed on, "sometimes the stupid midget regrets that she took away my chance to live a normal life, but normal is overrated. I'll be a Shinigami anyday of the week."

"As long as Kuchiki's involved right?" Tatsuki raised an eyebrow at him knowingly.

Ichigo didn't answer but the faint blush Tatsuki saw on his cheeks tells her all she needed to know. She gave him a small smile. "Idiot."

_o.o.o.o.o_

Tatsuki knew a long time ago that the petite shinigami girl whom Ichigo knew for a mere year already took the highest place in Ichigo's heart. But she also knew that Inoue cares for Ichigo more than she should. Tatsuki also knows Inoue's admiration mixed jealousy towards Rukia. She frowned. How did she ended up involved?

Amidst her thoughts, she didn't realize someone decided to take the spot next to her.

"Yo."

Tatsuki jumped as the heavy voice broke her trail of thought. She looked to her side and saw a big brown haired figure. "Sa-sado, what are you doing here?"

It took Chad a couple of seconds to reply. "I like to come here. To think."

Tatsuki smiled. "Yeah, it's a pretty peaceful place to think."

Silence danced around them for a minute. "You had a problem?" Chad asked.

"Huh?" Tatsuki was taken by surprise from the question.

"You seem very troubled a few minutes ago."

Tatsuki sighed for the nth time that afternoon. Granted, she doesn't know the guy very well, but now that they've been involved in the same situation , and she expected that he knew what she knew, the brunette found herself telling Chad her recent dillema.

"I don't think you're ever involved." Chad replied as soon as the girl finished.

"What?"

"You're not involved, you're just bringing yourself into the problem too much," Chad explained. "I noticed as well but this is their problem to figure out though. If you ask me, it will take a lot to come between death and strawberry."

Tatsuki blinked at the large boy's use of 'death and strawberry' and burst into fits of laughter once she realised what he meant. "Death and Strawberry? You nicknamed them?"

Chad shrugged. "It has a cute touch to it... I like cute.."

Tatsuki returned into her laughter fit but in the back of her mind she knew, she knew that Chad's answer is the same exact answer she has deep within herself. It is not her place to interfere."You're a good friend Sado," the brunette said as she calmed down. Chad turned to Tatsuki and gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, you too."

* * *

My sister said that Chad is a bit random, she suggested Renji. But I'm trying to keep this as realistic as possible (not TOO realistic, but you know) and from what I read in the manga and watched in the anime, those two haven't interacted much. Besides, I want to point out that everyone is connected in their own way no matter how close (or not) they are, so here goes. Although I do think Tatsuki and Renji will be a cute combination.


End file.
